Intelligent lubrication system for bearings

The system provides maintenance personnel with key information on all connected lubricators, and targeted maintenance of relubrication systems eliminates the need for periodic, route-based checks (manual relubrication of rolling bearings is still the norm in many areas of industry). While automatic lubricators are a big improvement on this, but they still require manual, route-based monitoring.

Generally speaking, manual relubrication errors are one of the main causes of failure in rolling bearings. Schaeffler's OPTIME C1, is an IoT solution for the relubrication of rolling bearings using intelligent, automatic lubricators. The new system integrates with Schaeffler’s OPTIME app to reliably prevent incorrect lubrication due to using too much or too little lubricant, using the wrong lubricant, lubricant contamination, blocked bearing lubrication channels, or empty lubricators. 

Each battery-powered OPTIME C1 unit is designed to be screwed on to a Schaeffler Concept 1 automated lubricator. The unit includes a communication module and a temperature sensor. The overall solution also includes a gateway and the OPTIME app. The OPTIME C1 units automatically connect the Concept 1 lubricators to form a mesh network. The mesh network captures and computes key operating data, such as the number of days remaining until the next lubricant refill, and sends it via the gateway to the Schaeffler cloud and then on to the OPTIME app.
www.schaeffler.de/en/optime-c1